Content Marketing Introduction

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is about using blogs, white papers, videos, and other on-site content to generate more sales for a business.

The traditional methods of marketing aren’t effective anymore, as society has adapted and evolved with technology. Old-school marketing tactics like banner ads become obsolete for your business as your customers become more and more technologically literate. That is why content marketing is so vital, instead of just advertising your services or products, you deliver relevant content that your target market are already seeking out.

Content marketing is the key to understanding your consumer base better. By leveraging the data you gather, you can develop a more interactive and engaging client journey. By monitoring which data is more effective, you can invest more resources into what has a higher success rate and not waste money on something that is not. This is called using Content Intelligence to assess your audience’s interests in craft a well-informed content marketing strategy. Informative content should be the basis of your marketing blueprint. Major brands like Apple, John Deere, and Microsoft are using content marketing on their websites.

Here are some of the main benefits of content marketing:

Increase sales
Reduce costs
Curate a better customer base
Boost customer loyalty

The main idea of content marketing is relevance and value. Not just spam emails from yet another company trying to advertise something – customers want information that is interesting and useful and content that cuts through the online clutter.

A blueprint to getting started with content marketing

There are essential skills and information that you will require to start your content marketing journey – especially if you want your business to be successful.

In a nutshell, you need a plan that will guide you both independently and collectively as a team throughout your content marketing journey.

You need to understand where you started, where you stand now, where you want to be, and how you’re going to get there.

Content marketing is comprised of the following, and more:

Native Advertising
Branded Content
Product Marketing
Traditional Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Inbound Marketing
Public Relations / Reputation Management
Influencer Marketing
What do I do next?

To have success in your content marketing, you must understand the elements that are critical to the core of content marketing. You will need to curate a content marketing strategy that meets your company’s business objectives. Generate content in the format that your audience wants, be it stories, Q and A’s, or how-to’s, in line with what they’re currently searching for. Your social media should be designed to engage with your audience and initiate discussions.

How will I know if it’s working?

There’s still more to it. You need to structure your content to complement your SEO and link with your website and additional digital channels, and in a format that bots can read, but that readers will enjoy. You will need create an editorial plan, and make certain that your team members are on the same track. You need a service or platform that will accurately measure the success rate of your strategies, in order to optimize every piece of content. You will then need to assess those analytics of your content and act on them.

Who we've worked with

Our Happy Clients

Caracal Engineering is a B2B engineering company focused exclusively on Solar PV mounting structures, a technical part of the Solar PV sector that is rarely understood and not often engaged. Being a technical business, necessitates digital partners that can wrap their heads around what we do, who we sell to, the markets we are in and the markets we want to move into. Correlate have managed to do exactly that in a short space of time and the results have been excellent.
Nathan Venter
CEO, Caracal Engineering
As a growing e-commerce business with a large retail footprint we needed a solid way to navigate our way around marketing and advertising in the digital space. Correlate helped us custom shape a digital marketing strategy which has helped us catapult our growth to new heights. We’re reaching targets that we never believed were possible!
Loren Young
Marketing Director, Whitehouse / Continental Linen
Correlate Digital has been exactly the partner we needed in our business. As a business we have in the past tried and failed to execute digital and strategic marketing strategies. When we approached Correlate, it was to outsource our digital marketing function so that we, as a company, can focus on our strengths whilst Correlate extends our reach and promotes our value proposition to the market. We can categorically state that Correlate has exceeded our expectations, and in doing so, we believe we have found a long-term strategic partner for our business.
Darryn Faulds
Portfolio Fund Manager, Metta Capital
The team has a great combination of talent & commitment. Once they take up a job, it’s as if they run it like its their own campaign. They’re fully committed to providing the highest levels of service, with an excellent turnaround time, and are always available to sort out all issues immediately. Their insights during the campaign strategy even helped us understand some aspects of our business & the market better
Ankur Poddar
Head of New Business Development, Mahindra South Africa